Rothschild to advise on potential RBS split: FT

A logo at a Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) branch is seen in the City of London March 6, 2013. REUTERS/Toby Melville

(Reuters) - The British government is set to name Rothschild to advise on a potential break-up of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L), the Financial Times reported on Monday.

Rothschild beat competition from Deutsche Bank and Bank of America Merrill Lynch at presentations last week and its role as adviser could be announced as soon as this week, the newspaper said, citing people close to the situation.

Finance Minister George Osborne said last month he would examine whether to split RBS -- 81 percent owned by the government and still lumbered with toxic loans from a boom-era property binge in the UK and Ireland -- into a good bank and hive its soured assets off into a so-called ”bad bank.

Rothschild is expected to begin its study on the potential split immediately, with a view to completing it by September, the FT said. It added that the Treasury is also expected to pick an asset valuation specialist to go through RBS’ loan book.

“The government will set out more details on the review of RBS assets in due course,” a Treasury spokesman said via email.